Stable Isotope Analysis

A laboratory method that measures ratios of non‑radioactive (stable) isotopes of elements (commonly C, N, O, H, S) in materials to infer sources, processes, trophic relationships, paleoenvironments, or physiochemical pathways based on characteristic isotopic fractionation and mixing models.

A laboratory technique that measures ratios of stable (non‑radiogenic) isotopes—commonly carbon (δ13C), nitrogen (δ15N), oxygen (δ18O), hydrogen (δ2H), and strontium (87Sr/86Sr)—in biological or material samples to infer aspects of diet, trophic level, geographic origin, mobility, and environmental or climatic conditions, with interpretation dependent on ecological baselines, tissue turnover perio